Nigeria is home to about 15 million of the world’s 258 million widows. Widowhood in an ethnically and religiously diverse country like Nigeria, with three major ethnic groups and over 250 minorities, is complex.
Widowhood is a period when a person has lost his or her spouse by death and has remained unmarried. The state of widowhood has multiple intersecting elements – social, cultural, economic, and even historical.
This period of life comes with challenges, a reality which led the UN to set aside a day every year (23 June) to look at the rights of widows and the issues that affect them.
In patrilineal and patriarchal societies, including Nigeria, descent is traced through males, with systems controlled and dominated by men. In such societies, women are expected to be subservient. Becoming a widow often compounds the disadvantages. It creates a doubly marginalised subgroup and sometimes subjects women to dehumanising rituals and harmful practices.
In my studies of marginal groups in Nigeria, I explored how being a woman intersects with other socioeconomic realities, exposing them to multiple disadvantages.
These studies found that women suffer social, economic, and health constraints. These are compounded by low literacy levels, cultural beliefs and rituals.
Burdens of widowhood in Nigeria
In Nigeria, widowhood comes with a lot of burdens and disadvantages. These include maltreatment, discrimination and stigmatisation.
Tradition, modernity and neo-patriarchy all present challenges to Nigerian women.
Some traditions barred women from inheriting land and property. Upon the death of a husband, the widow lost all she had acquired by herself and from her husband. She would be traditionally dehumanised through compulsory mourning rituals like forced seclusion.